ACT OF 1981 �ON THE LEGAL STATUS OF FOREIGN CITIZENS IN THE USSR�: BASIC PROVISIONS AND APPLICATION

Abstract

The article considers the peculiarities of the legal status of foreign citizens in the Soviet Union as a result of legislative changes in the early 1980s. The purpose of the article is to analyze the main provisions and features of the application �On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the USSR� Act of 1981. The research methodology is defined by an interdisciplinary approach (history, law) and is based on general scientific and special scientific methods, first of all, retrospection and legal analysis. The study result that the adoption of the �On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the USSR� Act in 1981 was, among other things, due to the need to regulate the main aspects of the stay of foreign tourists in the Soviet Union as there was a formal principle that foreigners enjoyed the same rights and freedoms and had the same responsibilities as Soviet citizens, unless otherwise provided by current legislation. Due to this provision, foreigners were endowed with a fairly wide range of socio-economic and personal rights and freedoms, as well as certain political rights and freedoms. At the same time, the use of rights and freedoms by foreign citizens and stateless persons in the USSR should not have harmed the interests of Soviet society and the state, the rights and legitimate interests of the citizens of the USSR. The conclusions emphasize that the legal status of foreigners in the USSR was based on the following principles: 1) foreign citizens in the Soviet Union could claim the same rights and freedoms and bear the same obligations as citizens of the USSR; 2) foreigners were treated as equal before the law, regardless of the origin, social and property status, race and nationality, sex, education, language, etc.; 3) certain special restrictions were allowed in respect of citizens of those states in respect of which there were restrictions; 4) the enjoyment of rights and freedoms by foreign citizens in the USSR shouldn�t have harmed the �interests of Soviet society�. At the same time, the formally guaranteed rights of foreigners were not always realized in practice due to the peculiarities of the political regime in the country.